THE CORE MESSAGES OF OUR BRAND

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1 STYLE GUIDE

2 INTRODUCTION The following guidelines provide tools for making decisions relative to the California Society of Municipal Finance Officers (CSMFO) logo and brand. These are the initial elements of a style guide, which typically includes more components such as templates for , letterhead, memorandums, training and event announcements and labels and guidelines for wearables, printed collateral (including brochures and flyers) and Facebook or other social media posts. The logo and brand elements respond to key questions about how CSMFO should represent itself through the use of these visual elements. This is not intended to be rigid, rather it is intended to be a starting foundation of a more comprehensive style guide to brand CSMFO in supporting its mission to serve its members and valuable stakeholders. This document should be updated periodically, for example, if decisions are made relative to additional components, such as those identified above, or if more clarity is needed with regard to specific brand applications. Questions regarding the Style Guide should be directed to CSMFO s Communication Committee or to CSMFO staff. THE CORE MESSAGES OF OUR BRAND Our brand relays the tone CSMFO wants to communicate in interactions with internal and external audiences. As members of CSMFO, we are committed to: Finance Education Innovation Excellence OUR MISSION CSMFO promotes excellence in financial management through innovation, continuing education and the professional development of our members. CSMFO members are deeply involved in the key issues facing cities, counties, and special districts in the State of California. We value honesty and integrity, and adhere to the highest standards of ethical conduct.

3 TABLE OF CONTENTS LOGO Logo Versions... 1 Logo Size... 4 Minimum Clear Space Around the Logo... 4 Logo Color... 5 COLOR Primary Brand Colors... 6 Secondary Brand Colors... 6 LOGO USAGE Appropriate Usage... 7 Inappropriate Usage... 7 Examples of Inappropriate Usage... 7 BRAND TYPOGRAPHY AND USAGE Primary Typeface Font... 8 Typographic Usage... 8 BRAND ELEMENTS Chapter Meeting Notices Educational Event Flyers Membership/Marketing Materials Wearables PowerPoint and Other Presentations P age

4 LOGO The logo is the primary graphic or visual expression for the brand. The CSMFO logo represents a financial graph to complement the mission of the organization. Correct usage of this mark is essential to establish a single, unified visual approach. Only the approved electronic art found on CSMFO s intranet site can be used in reproducing the logo. Below are versions of appropriate and acceptable CSMFO logos. CSMFO management staff may elect to design alternative logo versions for specific purposes, such as for Facebook, the magazine, the annual conference, etc. The use of alternative logo versions by CSFMO members must be preapproved by management staff. LOGO VERSIONS LOGO WITH FULL NAME ON THE RIGHT LOGO WITH FULL NAME BENEATH THE LOGO LOGO WITHOUT FULL NAME This version may be used in cases where the full name appears too small if reproduced for print, web or other applications. It also may be used if the full name already has been clearly stated in the document elsewhere. 2 P age

5 LOGO WITH TAGLINE UNDERNEATH This version may be used in cases where it is appropriate to remind of the mission of the organization, such as on Board materials. BLACK AND WHITE VERSION A black and white version of the logo (see below) may be used if color printing is unavailable or if a contrast is necessary to heighten the visibility of the identity. 3 P age

6 LANDS END VERSION FOR WEARABLES LOGO SIZE The logo with the full name should not appear smaller than 2.25 inches wide. If it must appear smaller due to production constraints, the logo may be reduced to no less than one inch with the full name removed. In this case, the full name should appear in close proximity to the logo, if possible. MINIMUM CLEAR SPACE AROUND THE LOGO The clear space refers to the area around the logo, which must remain free from text and images to ensure the logo is not obscured. As the diagram below indicates, the clear space is equal to the height of the capital C in California. EXAMPLES OF CLEAR SPACE 4 P age

7 LOGO COLOR The only appropriate colors, other than black and white, for the logo are listed below. If color printing is unavailable or when contrast is needed for the identity to be visible, use the black and white version of the logo. BRAND COLORS Colors are a key component of CSMFO s brand recognition. There are several color options, including Pantone, CMYK, RGB and Hexadecimal. The Pantone color matching system is a standardized color reproduction system that allows different printers and manufacturers to accurately reproduce colors within the Pantone library. CMYK, a term most often used in printing, stands for cyan, magenta, yellow and black, which are mixed in the printing process to create the colors of a document. RGB stands for red, green and blue. This color model uses the three colors in a variety of ways to produce a broad array of colors. The hexadecimal number is a binary-based equivalent to RGB percentages. RGB and Hexadecimal numbers are specified for materials viewed on screen (e.g., presentations and websites). 5 P age

8 Below are the Pantone, CMYK, RGB and HTML/Hexadecimal numbers for CSMFO s primary and secondary brand colors. PRIMARY BRAND COLORS The blue Pantone color is 300 CVC The Hexadecimal color is #0079c1 The CMYK color is: C=100%; M=44%; Y=0%; and K=0% The RGB color is: Red=0; Green=121; and Blue=193 SECONDARY BRAND COLORS Secondary colors, or often referred to as a secondary palette, add depth and presence to the primary brand palette. The colors are typically neutral and may be used for backgrounds or as a subtle addition to the brand. The gray Pantone color is solid coated cool gray 10 C The Hexadecimal color is #4d4d4d The CMYK color is C=61%; M=53%, Y=52% ; and K=24% The RGB color is: Red=96; Green=96; and Blue=96 6 P age

9 LOGO USAGE The logo should be used according to the following guidelines and should not be altered from the digital files. This applies in the case of sponsorships, as well. Below are examples of inappropriate and appropriate logo uses. APPROPRIATE USAGE The logo is unaltered. The logo is clearly visible. The logo presents enough contrast relative to the background. INAPPROPRIATE USAGE Altering the orientation of the logo or rotating it. Making the logo three dimensional. Altering any of the fonts. Stretching the logo. Altering the color and boldness of the logo. Making a pattern out of the logo. Placing the logo on a background that conflicts with the brand colors. Including a tagline beneath or next to the logo. EXAMPLES OF INAPPROPRIATE USAGE The example below includes a tagline, and the font of the tagline is inappropriately bolded with the incorrect color. The logo is re-sized incorrectly horizontally. 7 P age

10 The logo is incorrectly stretched and inappropriately includes the full name in a box to the right of the logo. The logo is inappropriately tilted upward. BRAND TYPOGRAPHY AND USAGE PRIMARY TYPEFACE FONT The primary typeface font for CSMFO is Calibri. Myriad Roman or Futura fonts are the fonts used when including the name The California Society of Municipal Finance Officers in the logo. Calibri font may be used in a variety of applications as indicated below: CALIBRI LIGHT is used primarily for headlines or subheads. AaBbCcDdEe CALIBRI BOLD is used primarily for headlines, subheads or for emphasis. AaBbCcDdEe CALIBRI REGULAR is used primarily as body copy. AaBbCcDdEe CALIBRI ITALIC is used primarily for emphasis. AaBbCcDdEe TYPOGRAPHIC USAGE Below are examples of inappropriate typographic uses. This is an example of a subheading using Comic Sans, as opposed to Calibri Bold. 8 P age

11 Intermediate Governmental Accounting This is an example of text below the logo in Courier Regular, as opposed to Calibri Regular. The pr i mar y t ypef ace f ont f or CSMFO i s Cal i br i. Myr i ad Roman or Fut ur a f ont s ar e t he f ont s used when i ncl udi ng t he name The Cal i f or ni a Soci et y of Muni ci pal Fi nance Of f i cer s i n t he l ogo. 9 P age

12 BRAND ELEMENTS All communications and marketing materials, other than wearables, must include, at a minimum, the following brand elements: CSMFO logo CSMFO Website address (i.e., Telephone number ( or ) Chapter Meeting Notices Chapter Meeting Notices will be created by CSMFO management staff in Adobe InDesign. CSMFO volunteers must provide management staff with the notice contents. The completed notices will be available, print-ready and digitally produced for distribution. They will be flexibly designed to allow for photographs of presenters and logos of event co-hosts. Educational Event Flyers Educational Event Flyers will be created by CSMFO management staff in Adobe InDesign. CSMFO members must provide management staff with the flyer contents. The completed flyers will be available, print-ready and digitally produced for distribution. They will be flexibly designed to allow for photographs of presenters and logos of event co-hosts. All electronic messages, from our day-to-day s to our carefully crafted HTML broadcast messages, should consistently reflect our brand identity. is one of CSMFO s primary communication methods with members and can frequently originate from Administration, Officers, Committees, Chapter Chairs, and key consultants. Therefore, this section is intended to establish standards for common attributes like logo, headlines and signatures, as well as to set forth basic rules for -specific grammar and usage. Key components. All official CSMFO s by staff or consultants shall originate from a CSMFO address, preferably through the CSMFO office system, and include either the Logo as detailed in this style guide or a graphic advertising the upcoming conference. s shall consistently adhere to Subject line, Pre-header and Signature lines noted below. Excluded from this are CSMFO volunteers (Board and Committee members and Chapter Chairs). Official CSMFO s Any communication to CSMFO members relating official CSMFO information shall qualify as an official CSMFO . This includes, but is not limited to, s announcing CSMFO courses or webinars, s regarding the Annual Conference, and s relating to the CSMFO awards program. Acronyms / Abbreviations. For s to members, widely known acronyms can be written without spelling the acronym out on first reference. For example, CSMFO, CPA, and GFOA do not need to be spelled out. 10 P age

13 CSMFO Committees. When CSMFO Committees are referenced, their full, official name shall be used. Technology or Administration committees shall NOT be shortened to Tech or Admin committees. Events Event names are capitalized and are not put in quotes or italicized (e.g., CSMFO Annual Conference.) Capitalization of headlines and subheads is preferred. Capitalize words with four or more letters. Capitalize the first word and last word. Capitalize all other words except articles (a, an, the), coordinate conjunctions (and, or, for, nor), and short prepositions (e.g., in, to, of, at, by, up, off). Do not use italics. Images All images should contain links as well as alt-tags. Links Do not include full URLs in the text of a message. Instead create a hyperlink. Avoid using phrases like click here. Instead, add the hyperlink to the sentence itself. Salutation Use title case to address readers in an salutation (e.g., Dear CSMFO Members, ). Pre-header s should have a pre-header that appears generally in preview mode alongside an 's subject line before the is opened. The message will be the lead part of all s and limited to 150 characters. It should clearly and succinctly support the content inside the . Such as, [On Friday, December 15, discount registration for the Annual Conference expire.] and continue below with the body message. Signature All s should have a signature (or signature template) that includes Sincerely or Thank You (or other valediction) along with the following components: Name Title (CSMFO title, applicable role/committee) Title (agency job title, agency) Subject Lines Subject lines should be catchy and informative. Avoid acronyms and jargon when targeting an external audience. It is preferred to keep subjects lines 50 characters or fewer, with your most important information in the first 20 characters. Titles Only capitalize titles when they are used immediately before a name. Contact Vice Provost Sheila Jackson for more information, said Tom Jones, the department s program assistant. Underline Do not use underlines to emphasize a word or phrase this can be confused for a link. 11 P age

14 Membership/Marketing Materials Membership/Marketing Materials will be created by CSMFO management staff in accordance with this Guide and with approval of CSMFO leadership. Wearables Approved wearables are available through Lands End at: Alternative versions of wearables must be preapproved by CSMFO management staff. PowerPoint or Other Digital Presentations (Cobranding) To consistently brand CSFMO, any presentation being made at a meeting held by or on behalf of CSMFO must include one of the approved logos in either the bottom right or bottom left of the title slide. 12 P age